Yes, my name is Cesare Cesari, but I promise I am more creative than my parents.
I joined forces with the Heidelberg Materials in October 2019. I started as a UX Designer and soon after I became a Service Designer. To make the long-story short: User Experience design is focused on a product and the touchpoints of our customers with it; Service Design is about the cross-product experience and internal processes. What I love about my work is the opportunity to dig deeper into the business mechanisms, to get to the core of things, and, last, but not least, to talk with the people making it happen.
My main task? Basically, it’s about making customers happy. During the process, I also make other people happy — the employees. I interpret the needs and pains of the people, providing our customers the best service possible. Then, I bring this knowledge to different HDigital teams so that we can design a solution to these problems and find new opportunities.
The business of Heidelberg Materials was always based on trust and personal relationships. This will never change. What is changing? The way we digitally support this relationship. Digital technology is changing the way we all behave, and our expectations. It showed us how information can be immediately accessible and boring tasks can be delegated to machines. Soon, our customers will expect every business to work this way (it is already happening). In my opinion, the key is not to put the digital between us and our customers but “around” us. The way we digitally support this relationship can give us a big advantage over our competitors.
Seeing through customers’ eyes makes us able to see the big picture
The core of my work is the user-centric approach. In detail, what I do is partially technical and partially cultural. It consists of bringing the user and customer problems to the center of the solution definition process. I do this by planning and supporting research, facilitating ideation, and validating that the solutions implemented are actually solving the problem.
My top competency is empathy. I can actually put myself in the customer’s shoes. I can put myself aside and purely listen to the person’s needs and problems. I have to admit that this is extremely challenging, but also extremely amazing regarding the results. It is the ignition of an ideation process that naturally narrows the possible solutions, reducing the risk.
What I also love about my work is the opportunity to develop my skills and gain knowledge. One of the things that had an influence on my decision to join HC was the possibility of developing UX maturity.
Moreover, I love visiting job sites and interacting with people. Creating something that users find useful and pleasant brings a smile to my face.
User experience is about listening to people pains and needs, and make their life better with a solution.
The world is constantly evolving. Our work is about gathering data, foreseeing the possible scenarios and helping people by delivering efficient solutions. Currently, the digital transformation helps our customers save time and money. They appreciate it, and we are constantly improving our products, responding to the needs on the market. This is a considerable shift.
What is the highlight of my career? Thinking of me as a facilitator and a messenger of information, my success is seeing a team bringing the User Centred Design into their working culture. Moreover, the fact that people I work with regularly ask me for advice or support makes me really proud. This drives me to extend my knowledge of the business to be more effective.
User Experience is also about simplifying things, translating the sophisticated to something easy to understand. I could go on and say a lot about our company, but I shall present the most valuable things about HC in a short form:
- Nice and competent colleagues
- Great team spirit
- The purpose of our work and the company
- Opportunities to explore and learn
Tips for the working world
- Create relationships and exchange experiences.
- Use every opportunity to train and develop your skills.
- Always keep the long term strategic goals in mind. A common goal is what makes us a team and it gives us a way to actually measure our accomplishments.
